HOW many of us get time to wipe wrapped food, food containers, canned sodas and pasta packaging and cereals boxes purchased from a supermarket or any retail outlet?
We do not realise that these products were at one time or another stored in warehouses and stores. Warehouses have rodents. Mice leave a trail of droppings on the surfaces of products they come across. Still rats can go urinating even on the tops of soda cans.
It is quite ironical that many people remember to wash vegetables and fruits, but it never occurs to them to clean boxes and soda cans, which could be encrusted with dried rat urine.
There are viruses that live in dried rat and mouse droppings. Furthermore, once dried, the droppings become like dust and can easily be breathed in or ingested if one does not wear protective gear or fails to wash one’s face and hands.
Canned drinks and other foods are stored in warehouses and containers that are infested with rodents. They get transported to retail outlets without being properly cleaned. The Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, discovered that the tops of soda cans could be encrusted with dried rat urine, which is so toxic that it can be lethal.
But Mr. Gideon Muragu, manager at Uchumi Supermarket’s City Square branch, disputed these findings. He says there is no way a rat can climb on top of a soda bottle and urinate on it. He goes on to say that Uchumi maintains a high standard of cleanliness to ensure that goods on display are free from dust and any contamination from warehouses.
The application of the FIFO (first in first out) system ensures that goods on display, which are wiped after they come from the stores, do not stay for long on the shelves. He is quick to add that they have sub-contracted companies which dispense pesticides in the stores.
A spot check by BN in the major manufacturing companies indicates that most of them adhere to proper sanitation in their warehouses. Francis Gachunga, production manager at Proctor & Allan, says the quality control department conducts routine checks in the stores.
The routine weekly checks ensure that there is no possibility of the products reaching customers without being cleaned properly.
John Ngare of the quality control department says cleaners in the stores are at no risk of inhaling contaminated air from either dust or dead rodents. Aspirators, dust masks and protective clothing are some of the safety gear for the workers.
The company, makers of breakfast cereals and other nutritional food products, uses plastic liners to package products. The products are then protected with an outer carton and an outside shrink-wrap is coated on the carton, hence no possibility of infestation.
Asked if he cleans foods, a customer at Uchumi’s Nairobi West branch says he is well aware of viruses that live on almost everything we consume. The shopper who prefers to remain anonymous says he is very sensitive about everything he touches.
“I am very specific on what I touch. During my secondary school biology and chemistry lessons we were taught that viruses couldn’t be seen with naked eyes. You had to be careful or you might easily get food poisoning if you handled foodstuffs carelessly,” he says.
Peter Mwanzia, a factory worker in a Nairobi manufacturing company, says his employer does not provide them with dust masks or any protective clothing when cleaning the stores. He says most cleaners complain of cold, and attributes this to dust.
Worse still, there are no bathrooms for the workers and they have to take bath in their houses after work.
The above scenario reflects negligence and total disregard of safety measures of workers on the part of the management. It is a typical example of a worker who was once sent to clean up a storeroom in Maui, Hawaii. On getting back, he complained that the storeroom was really filthy.
He also said he had noticed dried mice or rat droppings in some area. A couple of days later, the clerk was complaining of sore joints and headaches and began to vomit.
In the next two days, he was severely ill, his blood sugar went down to 66 while his face and eyeballs were yellow. A visit to the doctor diagnosed him to be suffering from massive organ failure. He died shortly after.